Week-in-Review and more "Flea Market Finds"

This week on The Past on a Plate:

 Monday MinTisane

 Simple and In Season: Beetroot and Apple Salad

 Way Back Wednesday: Hannah Woolley's Poached Fish

 Focus on Ingredients: Raw Milk Cheddar

 Dinner and a Movie: Wings of the Morning

Check out Flea Market Finds at Her Library Adventures

I have to admit to not being much on buying souvenirs. I usually spend all of my money on antiques and  maybe some clothing, so I don't have a collection of souvenir shot glasses, or anything like that. Luckily for me, other people buy souvenirs. I found this transferware plate at an estate sale. It has an illustration of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, which I've visited, but had no souvenir to prove it--until now! It's actually very similar to my Liberty Blue dishes, which you see quite often on this blog, except it's red, not blue, and has a colonial rather than revolution theme. If I remember correctly, this plate was under $10, so quite a good deal.

click to enlarge

Potato Scones and Entertainment for the New Economy

So, driving back from the farmers' market Saturday morning, I heard an economist on NPR* talking about how we didn't really have a recession--we had a contraction, which is even worse news. Not being an economist, what I could figure out is that while a recession is a blip that doesn't change the projected growth of the economy (i.e. it fits in the "best fit graph" equation for the economy), a contraction actually alters growth projections. I've decided to do my bit and point all of you lovelies in the direction of nearly-free entertainment. You'll have to keep paying for your electricity and internet access, though, which is a total bummer.

Madeleine Carroll and Robert Donat in a still from The 39 Steps

Image from Doctor Macro

One of my favorite websites is Internet Archive, which is all about public-domain awesomeness. Did you know they have The 39 Steps available to download for free? How awesome is that? (Or, you can watch it on this page** if you don't want to download it.) And besides, who doesn't love Robert Donat? The 39 Steps is actually the first movie Paul and I watched after moving to Wichita. We had already changed the address on our Netflix subscription and the disc arrived shortly after we did! After we had unloaded the last box from the moving van and our family members had left for Oklahoma City, Paul and I rolled the TV cart (no big flat-screen then!) next to the bed, propped ourselves up with pillows and vegged out.

While not very faithful to its source material (Alfred Hitchcock was bad about that.), The 39 Steps is an entertaining chase through London and the Scottish highlands when Robert Donat's character (Richard Hannay) is wrongly (of course!) suspected of murder. He meets Pamela (Madeleine Carroll) along the way and she gives him almost as much trouble as the police. Both Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll learn that things aren't always as they appear...

*****

It looks like a biscuit, smells like a biscuit, tastes like a biscuit, but it isn't a biscuit--it's a Potato Scone!  Thankfully, a scone that stealthily conceals one of its ingredients isn't insidious like the villains in The 39 Steps--it's just tasty.

1. Work the softened butter into the flour mixture
2. What dough looks like after butter is mixed in
3. Mash the boiled potatoes
4. Add potatoes to dough
5. Make a well for the milk
6. Mix in enough milk so that dough becomes cohesive (keep checking; it happens more quickly than you'd think!)
7. Cut dough into twelve triangles
8. Bake on a floured baking sheet (Don't forget the little bits you've trimmed off the scones!)

I've been eating these for breakfast this week.  So I have fresh scones every morning, I wrapped each square (two triangles) in plastic wrap and then put them in a container in the freezer.  When I get up, I place the two scones on a baking sheet and preheat the oven.  It takes about twelve minutes (instead of ten) to bake them from their frozen state.
Potato Scones

These delicious scones are for Breakfast Club #14: Potatoes.

Breakfast Club was created by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours.

Thanks to Scrumptious Sally for hosting this month!

A closer look at my vintage Staffordshire cup and saucer:

I'm incapable of passing up gorgeous transferware if it's a decent price (or downright cheap). Unfortunately, I only have this cup and saucer in this particular pattern! I'm keeping an eye out for it, though, and hoping I can find a good deal on some other pieces.

*****

*Farmers' markets and NPR?!  Now you'll only need one guess as to my voter registration...  ;-)

**

Vintage Recipe Thursday: Chicken Caruso

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I wasn't so sure about this recipe when I saw it in Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two (1964), but I had leftover chicken, so I decided to give it a try.  It's so yummy and easy and cheesy!  This is one of the quickest, easiest recipes I've ever posted.  I served the Chicken Caruso (which we also lovingly call Chicken David Caruso) with Perfect Steamed Broccoli and a pear half with cranberry sauce, as well as Boston Cream Pie.  We actually had this back in January, but I'm having a slow cooking week this week because of tons of leftovers.  I'm glad I had this in reserve so I wouldn't have to skip Vintage Recipe Thursday!

Chicken Caruso

*****

Click for Tasha's Briar Rose posts

Continuing on with more vintage, I'm doing the Briar Rose Vintage Knit-along at Tasha's blog, By gum, by golly! and I'm very excited because it's my first KAL.  I just thought I would share my gauge swatch--it's Knit Picks Palette in Opal Heather:

*****

P.S. Thank you so much to everyone who commented on Monday's post.  I'm glad you're enjoying "Life This Week."  Provided my life doesn't get in the way, "Life This Week" will be a weekly occurrence!

The King's Speech

I finally got to see The King's Speech Saturday and it was just amazing! I can't recommend it highly enough--it's definitely worth the $10. Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush are fabulous and the entire cast is outstanding. The actors include: Anthony Andrews, David Bamber, Claire Bloom, Jennifer Ehle, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce, and Timothy Spall. I kept leaning over to Paul and whispering, "It's Lizzie!" or "It's Mr. Collins!" or "It's Sir Percy!" I was very excited, to say the least. You should just go see it.

We actually convinced a few friends to go with us and everyone came back to the house for tea and cake. They were also forced to admire my collection of coronation commemorative pieces. Appropriately enough, I have a George VI (and Elizabeth) egg cup that I found here in Wichita:

Here's a photo of the tea table (more about the cake next Monday):

Vintage Recipe Thursday: Simple Sugar Cookies

Simple Sugar Cookies

These are the kind of sugar cookie that keeps really well in a cookie jar, because you don't eat them hot from the oven.  After they've cooled, they're crisp and crunchy, which makes for a nice change.  They're also unfrosted, which means even less work and the batch makes 60 cookies, so I don't have to worry about making cookies very often.  Plus, the dough freezes really easily.  Freezing instructions are included with the recipe.

Quick Check-in

Just thought I'd stop by and show off my newest estate sale find--Liberty Blue dinner plates, cups and saucers. Liberty Blue is Staffordshire pottery that features scenes from the American Revolution. Talk about Anglo-American relations! The dinner plate (above) has Liberty Hall in Philadelphia on it while the cup has the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and the saucer has a picture of the Old North Church. This website has more information about the pattern. I must say that I wish our grocery store would give away anything half as nice as Staffordshire pottery!

Here's Perfect Steamed Broccoli again along with Cheesy Chops & Chips, one of the easiest and most delicious ways to cook pork chops ever.

Next time, I'll post some of my own recipes. Paul and I have some friends coming over for a Traditional British Food dinner party. On the menu: Boiled Beef with Carrots and Dumplings, Pease Pudding, English White Bread, and Treacle Pudding.

Traditional British Food, Part 12: Inspired by Traditional British Ingredients

Today, I'm highlighting three dishes that, while not traditional British food, use ingredients that are commonly found in British cooking. First up, we have a risotto (one of my favorite Italian dishes) full of green peas. According to Colin Spencer, green peas became very fashionable in England in the seventeenth century, along with artichokes, asparagus, cauliflowers, cucumbers, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, and spinach.* I can't imagine cooking without six of my favorite vegetables (everything on that list except cauliflower and cucumber). Many food historians trace our current tastes to the early modern period when cream, butter, and flour roux were taking over from the medieval sweet/sour sauces. Having looked through many medieval recipes, I must say I'd prefer eating in the seventeenth century to eating in the thirteenth century.

My second recipe uses another of the fashionable vegetables, the artichoke, which is combined with cheddar cheese and bacon (very British) to make the best quiche I've ever tasted. To finish up, I decided to mash up Heath bars ("finest quality English toffee," says the label, although I'm sure there is better out there) and put them on top of vanilla ice cream. I have to admit it's a really lazy dessert, but I love toffee, so it makes me happy.

The recipes:



Green Pea Risotto

Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups arborio rice
2/3 cup dry white wine
6 cups hot chicken stock
1 pound frozen peas
1 ounce Pecorino Romano, grated
salt and pepper

Heat the oil and butter in a skillet until foaming, add onion and cook for about 5 minutes or until softened, add garlic, stir around then add rice and cook for about a minute.

Pour in the wine, let it boil for one minute then turn the heat down to medium and add the stock, a ladle at a time, letting the rice absorb the liquid before adding more. Stir continuously.

When all the stock has been added, keep stirring for about 5 minutes and then add the peas and cook, still stirring, until the peas are cooked and the rice is creamy and fluffy yet still al dente. This will only take a few minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Adapted from this recipe.

.....

Artichoke, Bacon, and Cheddar Quiche

Serves 6

1/2 recipe short crust pastry
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, beaten
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces bacon, cut into 3/4"-wide pieces
1 cup heavy cream
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup (lightly packed) flat-leaf parsley, minced
14-ounce can artichoke hearts (not marinated), rinsed and drained
3 ounces sharp cheddar, grated (a little more than 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to an 1/8-inch thickness. Fit it in a 10" tart pan. Dock and then blind bake the pastry (be sure to put the tart pan on a baking sheet) for 15 minutes. Then, remove the pie weights, brush pastry with a bit of the beaten egg and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

While the pastry is baking, heat the oil over medium-high in a frying pan and cook the bacon until it just starts to brown. Set aside.

Beat the cream into the beaten eggs, add garlic and parsley, season with salt and pepper.

Arrange artichokes and bacon in the tart shell and cover with cheddar. Pour the egg mixture over and return tart pan to oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a sharp knife stuck into the center of the quiche causes no liquid to come to the surface. Cool slightly before serving.

Adapted from this recipe.

.....

Lazy Toffee Ice Cream

Serves 1

1 scoop vanilla ice cream (I was really lazy and didn't make my own but used Haagen-Dazs, which, at least, doesn't have crazy chemicals in it)
3 Heath miniatures (21g total), beat with a mallet
1 very English bowl

.....

*Colin Spencer, British Food: An Extraordinary Thousand Years of History (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 140.

Traditional British Food, Part 1: A Chicken in Every Pot

Welcome to the first edition of my Traditional British Food Project! Last night, I made my version of a BBC Good Food recipe, Chicken, Leek & Parsley Pie. I got to use my basic math skills when converting metric units to English units. I really don't like the metric system. It lacks the romance of the English system. I think that tablespoons and cups are friendlier than milliliters, which always sound so sterile. Anyway, here's my version of the recipe:

Chicken, Leek, and Parsley Pie

4 cups cooked chicken*, chopped into bite-sized pieces or pulled apart by hand (my preferred method)
2 cups chicken stock (you really should use homemade if at all possible, see how here)
3 1/2 tablespoons butter (unsalted)
2 leeks (of average size)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (also average size)
2 cups (lightly packed) flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup crema mexicana (closest thing to creme fraiche in Wichita)
1/2 pound puff pastry (thawed, but cold)
Milk or beaten egg or egg white (to glaze crust)

Pan with a 4-cup capacity, such as a 9-inch pie plate, a Le Creuset oval gratin 28, a 9-inch round cake pan, or an 8x4-inch loaf pan

1. Preheat oven to 400-degrees fahrenheit.
2. Halve and thinly slice white and light-green part of leeks. Soak in a large bowl to remove silt.
3. Roughly chop parsley and zest lemon. Set aside.
4. Place chicken in the bottom of your pan.
5. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add drained leeks and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Then, gradually stir in the stock and cook until the sauce bubbles and thickens.
6. Remove saucepan from the heat and stir in lemon, parsley, and crema. Season to taste with salt and pepper then pour over the chicken and set pie dish aside.
7. Roll out the puff pastry until it is approximately 1 inch larger all around than the top of the pie dish. Moisten the rim of the dish with water, place the pastry on the dish and use a sharp knife or kitchen shears to trim the overhanging pastry to 1 inch all around. Turn the edges under then seal with the tines of a fork. Any leftover pastry can be used for decoration.
8. Brush the pastry with the milk or egg wash and bake on a baking sheet (to catch bubblings over and make it easier to remove from the oven) in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

(Serves 4)

*Cooked chicken can be left over from a roast or from making stock with a whole chicken (as opposed to just bones and leftover bits). To make stock with an entire bird:

1. Put an entire 3 to 5-pound chicken in a large stockpot or dutch oven.
2. Add a peeled and roughly chopped carrot, a roughly chopped celery stalk, and a peeled and quartered onion.
3. Add enough water to cover the chicken by half an inch.
4. Add 1 bay leaf, a handful of peppercorns, and thyme sprigs or dried thyme.
5. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Check the heat every once in a while.
6. Strain the stock into a mixing bowl (discarding the solid parts). Cover and cool overnight. In the morning, you can skim off the fat (which will now have solidified) and store the stock in the refrigerator. I like to use quart-sized mason jars.
7. Cool the chicken overnight and then remove the meat and store in the refrigerator.

In other news, we've had one strawberry from our hanging basket reach maturity thus far. It was red all the way through and juicy and a bit tart. We'll have to see how the other ones turn out. (The demitasse cup and saucer are part of a set I found at A Legacy Antiques on Douglas.)

In other antique dish news, I found a set of nine of these (for $8.25) at an estate sale this weekend:
That's all for now. Until next time!

Come, let's go a-Maying*

I'd love to, Mr. Herrick, but it's still a-raining. I love dreary weather, but this is getting to be a bit much. No maypole dancing today. However, I doubt there's a place for maypole dancing in Wichita even if it weren't raining. Perhaps it's for the best. According to Henry Burton's Divine Tragedy, anyone who has fun catches the plague and dies. Or falls through the ice and dies. Or gets pregnant. And dies.**

While we're on the subject of things of which Mr. Burton is bound to disapprove, here's my recipe for Kentucky Derby Bourbon Pecan Pie. Paul was dying for pecan pie and the Kentucky Derby is tomorrow, so it seemed natural. I did some internet research and didn't really find the recipe that was what I was looking for, so I cobbled a few together and made my own. My biggest problem with pecan pie is that the filling is usually sickly-sweet, but the whiskey does a good job of cutting the sweetness and giving the filling more depth of flavor.

I started with the Martha Stewart short crust recipe, but I made it in a bowl with my hands and a fork and skipped the aggravating clean-up associated with a food processor. This pie only needs half a recipe, so I froze the rest for later. The crust is blind baked (20 minutes at 375 with docking and pie weights) and then cooled. For the filling:

1/2 c. unsalted butter
4 large eggs
1 c. light corn syrup
3/4 c. light brown sugar, packed
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 t fine-grained salt
3 T Bourbon whiskey (I used Maker's Mark)
1 1/4 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat then remove from the heat and let cool. Add the remaining ingredients except the pecans and whisk until incorporated and smooth. Stir in the pecans and then pour filling into the cooled pie shell. Bake for around 50 to 60 minutes, or until the tip of a knife comes out relatively clean from the center of the pie. If needed, cover the edge of the pie with tin foil to keep the crust from burning. Be sure to cool the pie completely so the filling will set up.

n.b.: Don't be lazy like I was and neglect to chill the formed crust before blind baking it. That's how I lost my fluting. :-(


In other cooking news, I'm announcing a new project! Beginning this month, I'm going to be adapting traditional British recipes and posting my results. If you feel like making any of the recipes, I'd love to know how everything turned out (and I'd like to see pictures, if possible). I know British food has a bad reputation and isn't very popular, but a lot of the recipes I've been researching sound really appetizing. I'm looking forward to adapting them and cooking them for the blog.

While we're on the subject of things British, I have to share a recent awesome estate sale find: a Brown Betty teapot. It was only $11 because we went on the half-price day.




I also got all these cloth napkins for $3, which means that I won't have to sew any. Paul and I are trying to drastically reduce our trash output. We already recycle and try to reuse things, but now we're starting a compost heap and trying to only buy things that either (a) have no packaging or (b) have recyclable packaging. It's going to be quite a challenge!



* CORINNA'S GOING A-MAYING.
by Robert Herrick

GET up, get up for shame, the blooming morn
Upon her wings presents the god unshorn.
See how Aurora throws her fair
Fresh-quilted colours through the air :
Get up, sweet slug-a-bed, and see
The dew bespangling herb and tree.
Each flower has wept and bow'd toward the east
Above an hour since : yet you not dress'd ;
Nay ! not so much as out of bed?
When all the birds have matins said
And sung their thankful hymns, 'tis sin,
Nay, profanation to keep in,
Whereas a thousand virgins on this day
Spring, sooner than the lark, to fetch in May.

Rise and put on your foliage, and be seen
To come forth, like the spring-time, fresh and green,
And sweet as Flora. Take no care
For jewels for your gown or hair :
Fear not ; the leaves will strew
Gems in abundance upon you :
Besides, the childhood of the day has kept,
Against you come, some orient pearls unwept ;
Come and receive them while the light
Hangs on the dew-locks of the night :
And Titan on the eastern hill
Retires himself, or else stands still
Till you come forth. Wash, dress, be brief in praying :
Few beads are best when once we go a-Maying.

Come, my Corinna, come ; and, coming, mark
How each field turns a street, each street a park
Made green and trimm'd with trees : see how
Devotion gives each house a bough
Or branch : each porch, each door ere this
An ark, a tabernacle is,
Made up of white-thorn neatly interwove ;
As if here were those cooler shades of love.
Can such delights be in the street
And open fields and we not see't ?
Come, we'll abroad ; and let's obey
The proclamation made for May :
And sin no more, as we have done, by staying ;
But, my Corinna, come, let's go a-Maying.

There's not a budding boy or girl this day
But is got up, and gone to bring in May.
A deal of youth, ere this, is come
Back, and with white-thorn laden home.
Some have despatch'd their cakes and cream
Before that we have left to dream :
And some have wept, and woo'd, and plighted troth,
And chose their priest, ere we can cast off sloth :
Many a green-gown has been given ;
Many a kiss, both odd and even :
Many a glance too has been sent
From out the eye, love's firmament ;
Many a jest told of the keys betraying
This night, and locks pick'd, yet we're not a-Maying.

Come, let us go while we are in our prime ;
And take the harmless folly of the time.
We shall grow old apace, and die
Before we know our liberty.
Our life is short, and our days run
As fast away as does the sun ;
And, as a vapour or a drop of rain
Once lost, can ne'er be found again,
So when or you or I are made
A fable, song, or fleeting shade,
All love, all liking, all delight
Lies drowned with us in endless night.
Then while time serves, and we are but decaying,
Come, my Corinna, come, let's go a-Maying. (published 1648, check out this Robert Herrick site.)

**This took locating my notes from HIST 4973: Revolutionary Britain 1640-1660, which have now moved with me twice. And yet, I can't find my purse. Burton's indignant Puritan response to Charles I's Declaration of Sports, which encouraged fun on Sunday, is worth reading just for the sheer amusement. It reminds me of the sex-ed scene in Mean Girls: "Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant. And die."

Robert Herrick was a great supporter of the monarchy and many of his poems extol the glory of country amusements.

Style and Substance

Style
I doubt it's a surprise to you, dear reader, that I enjoy the work of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. This piece was on Radio Kansas last week: Cello Concerto in B-Flat WQ 171. Besides being a cello concerto, it also has some nice harpsichord passages. I've wanted a harpsichord for a long time (as well as an organ, but Paul bought me one of those), but they are very very expensive and don't show up very often at estate sales like organs do. I really like this one from Robertson Harpsichords:

It should also be no surprise that I have a certain fondness for china and a tendency toward Anglophilia. Prince Charles just turned 60, so naturally I want this commemorative plate from Caverswall China. There is a video on their website which you will like if you (a) loved the Mr. Rogers factory visits and (b) are a total snob. Needless to say, I was riveted.


Substance
Sustenance, rather, I should say. Below is a photo of yummy Pork Chops with Horseradish Apples from the November issue of Gourmet. The recipe is available here. I served them with roasted sweet potatoes (60-70 minutes in 350-degree oven). I love sweet potatoes, but I am not a fan of marshmallows unless they are in Rice Krispie Treats, so I'll be picking the marshmallows off at Thanksgiving.

I've also made bread for the first time ever and I have to say I'm rather proud of myself. It turned out really well! I even enjoyed the kneading though I'm too short for my kitchen counter and had to stand en demi-pointe. Next time, I'll just channel June Cleaver and wear high heels. I have to admit, though, that many of my endeavors end in mess and chaos so I should probably revise it to say I will be channeling Lucy Ricardo. The bread recipe is online here.
Occasionally, I eat healthfully at lunch and it gives me a chance to show off my baking and yogurt-making skills.

Until next time, Happy Thanksgiving!

Delusions of Southern Belle Grandeur

Above and below: Pumpkin Pasta for dinner

I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish and I wasn't sure if Paul was going to eat it (or if I was going to eat it for that matter but I do love most forms of squash). My fears were put to rest with the wonderful smell of the sauce simmering. It was really good and the recipe can be found here. The only thing I didn't like was that I thought that 1" pieces of kale were much too big. I might even substitute par-boiled broccoli instead of kale next time. I got to use my Le Creuset casseroles which I bought at an antique store in Edmond for super cheap. I think the large casserole was $25 or $30. I love them and I understand why people could pay full price for them and now I really really want one of their large dutch ovens. Call me crazy, but I get super excited over the Williams-Sonoma catalog.
Well, I've been claiming that I would buy the 4-disc Gone with the Wind and I finally did, along with the Southern Cooking edition of Gourmet and didn't realize the connection until I got home. There are so many things I have to make out of this issue! I could go for a biscuit or two right now...

I watched Gone with the Wind yesterday while I painted my nails, ate lunch, needlepointed, and worked more on Paul's socks, which seem to be the never-ending knitting project. I really didn't mean to watch the entire movie yesterday, but I did. And (don't read the rest of this sentence if you are one of the five people on the face of the planet who hasn't seen the movie or read the book) I still cry when Melanie dies even thought I've seen the movie at least 10 times already and I would read the book again in a heartbeat if it weren't so long. It's much quicker to watch the movie. The quality of the DVD is amazing. The film transfer is flawless and the sound could have been recorded yesterday. I was fascinated the entire time by how fresh the film is and it was made almost 70 years ago! Except for the look of three-strip Technicolor (which I love anyway and would use if I ever made a film) GWTW doesn't seem dated. I was also struck by how no one else possibly could have played Rhett Butler but Clark Gable. I just read the novel early last year and Margaret Mitchell's descriptions of Rhett and his mannerisms and speech are Gable and not just in GWTW, but in his earlier films, especially It Happened One Night and Manhattan Melodrama. Anyway, that's enough of me as a film critic, especially reviewing something that has been written about as much as GWTW.
From Gone with the Wind to one of my own Southern belle qualities--
The photograph above is my china pattern, Lady Carlyle by Royal Albert. I honestly picked this out in elementary school and have been collecting it since. Unfortunately, it was discontinued just a few years ago, so I have to look for it every time I go to an estate sale (I actually have found cup/saucer sets and a cake plate) and my parents keep an eye out on the internet. The last big shipment of Lady Carlyle had to come all the way from Ireland and took months and months. My parents are such lovely people for not having discouraged the bulk of my eccentricities and contributing to my collection on birthdays and Christmas.